GOP Seeks Review of Biden Pardons Over Autopen Use and Capacity Questions
Republicans on the House Oversight Committee have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to review more than 4,200 pardons and commutations issued during Joe Biden’s presidency, arguing that the use of an autopen — combined with allegations of cognitive decline — may undermine the validity of executive clemency actions attributed to the former president. The request places renewed scrutiny on Biden autopen pardons and raises the possibility that some recipients, including Biden’s son Hunter, could face renewed legal exposure if clemency orders are declared invalid.
What Republicans Argue
In a public letter released Tuesday, committee members asserted that “President Biden’s executive actions that were signed using the autopen are void,” on the grounds that the Constitution assumes personal presidential judgment when issuing pardons. The letter concludes that the Department of Justice should determine whether any of the clemency actions were executed without Biden’s direct involvement or awareness.
Republican lawmakers cited a 93-page investigative report accompanying the letter, which alleges “a cover-up of the president’s cognitive decline” and claims there is “no record demonstrating President Biden himself made all of the executive decisions that were attributed to him.” The report does not identify who may have acted in Biden’s place, nor does it include testimony directly from Biden, who was not subpoenaed during the inquiry. Excerpts — not full transcripts — from interviews with former staff are included.
Members of the panel argue that if Biden was not cognitively capable of reviewing and approving the pardons when they were signed mechanically, the legal basis for those orders is compromised. That argument extends to Hunter Biden, whose clemency protections would disappear if the actions were voided.
The Role of the Autopen in the Dispute
The Biden autopen pardons issue does not center on the device itself — autopens have been used by multiple presidents to sign official documents when travel, scheduling, or security constraints make in-person signature impractical. Rather, the controversy hinges on whether the president verified and approved the decisions the autopen executed.
Former President Donald Trump has made the topic a recurring point of criticism and symbolism, going so far as to replace Biden’s portrait in the West Wing with a framed photograph of an autopen machine writing out Biden’s familiar signature. Trump has also issued an executive directive ordering an inquiry into “who ran the United States while President Biden was in office.”
What the Biden Team Says
A spokesperson for Biden, who is recovering from prostate cancer treatment, criticized the request as partisan and baseless. The response stated, “This investigation into baseless claims has confirmed what has been clear from the start: President Biden made the decisions of his presidency. There was no conspiracy, no cover-up, and no wrongdoing.”
Democrats are expected to frame the GOP report as an effort to retroactively delegitimize the Biden presidency following his withdrawal from the 2024 race. Biden himself has dismissed GOP allegations about his decision-making capacity as politically motivated, previously calling Republican critics “liars.”
Context of Capacity Questions
Concerns about Biden’s cognitive state predate this report and intensified following the widely scrutinized June 2024 CNN debate in Atlanta, after which Biden withdrew from the race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the party’s nominee. Behind-the-scenes accounts published since then, including excerpts from books such as Original Sin by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, have contributed to ongoing speculation about who was directing executive decision-making in the final months of the administration.
Republicans argue that the combination of autopen usage and reported staff intervention raises unresolved constitutional questions. Critics of the inquiry counter that capacity claims are being used as a pretext for legal or political retribution long after Biden left office.
Potential Legal Implications
If any of the Biden autopen pardons were deemed invalid due to lack of authorization rather than the use of autopen alone, recipients could lose protection from prosecution. That would place both high-profile and low-profile beneficiaries at potential legal risk. The Oversight Committee urged Bondi to investigate not only the pardons themselves but also the roles of former White House physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor and aides Anthony Bernal and Annie Tomasini, who invoked the Fifth Amendment during testimony.
Whether the Justice Department will act on the request is uncertain. Legally unwinding thousands of executive clemency actions would be an unprecedented intervention into presidential authority after the fact.
What Happens Next
The Justice Department has not indicated whether it will open a review. Any decision would be legally and politically consequential, potentially setting a new standard for how presidential authorization is verified. The dispute also foreshadows continued battles over the legacy and legitimacy of decisions made late in Biden’s presidency.
For now, the controversy over Biden autopen pardons reflects a broader unresolved question — not only about the mechanical act of signing but about who was exercising presidential authority in Biden’s final year in office and whether that authority met constitutional standards.